Glenn Talbot

Real Name
Glenn Talbot

Occupation
Colonel, US Air Force; former commanding officer of Gamma Base, security chief of Project: Greenskin and Los Alamos Missile Base ("Desert Base")

Citizenship
U.S.A.

Place of Birth
Unrevealed

Known Relatives
Betty Ross Banner (Ex-Wife), Brian Talbot (brother)

Group Affiliation
US military; formerly US Air Force Mobile Combat Force One (Hulkbusters), Operation: Hulk

Education
Military academy graduate

Height
6'1"

Weight
215 lbs.

Eyes
Blue

Hair
Brown

Powers
None

Abilities
Glenn Talbot was highly trained in the US Air Force and was a competent military strategist.

Other Info
Major Glenn Talbot was brought to Desert Base, New Mexico by its commanding officer, General Thunderbolt Ross, for two reasons. The first reason was because Ross wanted Talbot to investigate nuclear physicist Dr. Robert Bruce Banner, due to mysterious disappearances (Ross suspected that Banner was a traitor and had some connection with the monstrous Hulk). The second reason was that Ross hoped that his daughter, Betty, would fall in love with Talbot instead of Dr. Banner (Ross thought Banner was unmanly). Talbot tried to fulfill both of these objects. In fact, he redoubled his efforts once he discovered that Bruce Banner was actually the Hulk. (To learn about the characters above, just click on their highlighted names. Note: Beware of the very revealing outfits on Betty Ross's bio page.)

Eventually, Dr. Banner was able to keep his own persona when he turned into the Hulk; therefore, to Talbot's dismay, Betty agreed to marry Banner. However, at the wedding ceremony, the Leader transformed Banner back into the mindless savage Hulk of old. And after some time of thinking that Bruce was lost forever, Betty eventually agreed to marry Talbot. (To learn about the Leader, click on his name above.)

General Ross and his Hulkbusters pursued the Hulk into the Arctic. However, when there, Ross was taken prisoner by the Gremlin (who then headed a secret Soviet base there). Glenn Talbot volunteered to rescue Ross. However, after Talbot was able to free Ross, he himself was shot during the rescue mission and was captured. Afterward, General Ross returned with a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents led by Clay Quartermain into the Soviet Union to rescue Talbot. With assistance from the Hulk, Ross and Quartermain finally succeeded in freeing Talbot. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about the teams and/or characters.)

Later, Talbot learned that Betty no longer loved him. She was still in love with Bruce Banner. Therefore, Glenn and Betty were soon divorced.

After the strain of many years of failures of hunting and trying to stop the Hulk, General Ross suffered a nervous breakdown and was relieved of his command of Gamma Base. Because Talbot was the man with the next most experience in battling the Hulk, he was promoted to Colonel and given command of the Gamma Base by the Pentagon. Determined to gain vengeance for the loss of his wife's love and for Ross's nervous collapse, Talbot was intent on destroying the Hulk. However, Talbot proved to be no more of a success at destroying the Hulk than Ross had been. Dissatisfied with Gamma Base's repeated failures to end the menace of the Hulk, Congress finally shut down the base. However, Glenn's obsession with killing the Hulk continued on. Talbot committed treason by stealing the War-Wagon (a highly sophisticated flying battle cruiser) and went off on his own to locate and kill the Hulk. This led to a battle between Talbot and the Hulk in Japan. In the end, Talbot died. (To learn about the War Wagon, click on the highlighted name above.)

Later is was reavealed that Talbot was alive. However, it was discovered that this Talbot was a fake (an LMD) orchestrated by the Intelligencia. The real Talbot is still assumed to be dead. (Click on the highlighted names above to learn about LMDs and/or the Intelligencia. Also, the fifth picture posted is of the LMD of Talbot.)

To learn a tiny bit more about Glenn Talbot, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Talbot,_Glenn.

Battle Ultimate 2 Results

A last minute vote made the Battle Ultimate 2 end in a TIE!!! Psylocke and Galactus are officially the "People's Choice of the Strongest Marvel Characters" (of the last 50 Marvel characters highlighted, anyway) on the Marvel Madness blog!

I checked the poll before I went to bed and Galactus was in the lead by 1 vote over Psylocke and War Machine with 15 minutes left in the poll. But, when I checked the votes in the morning, Psylocke had received another vote. WOW! This proves that every vote counts, right?! With only 8 voters, Psylocke and Galactus tied for first place with 3 votes each! Both will be crowned the victors of Battle Ultimate 2! (War Machine came in second place with 2 votes.)

Thank you for all those Marvel Maniacs that participated in the poll!

Uncle Ben

Real Name
Benjamin Parker

Occupation
Retired; former textile worker, carnival barker

Citizenship
U.S.A. (deceased)

Place of Birth
Brooklyn, New York

Known Relatives
May Parker (wife), Richard Parker (brother, deceased), Mary Parker (sister-in-law, deceased), Peter Parker (Spider-Man, nephew), Mary Jane Watson Parker (niece-in-law)

Group Affiliation
None

Education
High school graduate

Height
5'9"

Weight
175 lbs.

Eyes
Blue

Hair
White

Powers
None

Abilities
Ben Parker was a good parent and a loving husband and he had many years worth of experience in textile working

Other Info
Ben Parker was a boy around the time of World War II. Later in life, he received some military training. Since high school, Ben had liked May Reilly; however, she had now fallen in love with a criminal. When May's boyfriend came to her one night and proposed to her on the spot, Ben was there to expose him as a murderer. When the police arrived and arrested the boy, Ben was there to comfort May. Afterward, Ben and May began relationship that soon evolved into love. Eventually, the two were happily married. (To learn about Aunt May, click on her name above. Young Ben Parker is shown in the third picture posted.)

When Ben's brother Richard and his wife Mary died, Ben and May decided to raise their son Peter as their own. Peter loved his Uncle Ben and Aunt May more than anyone in the world. (Click on the highlighted names to learn about Uncle Ben's relatives.)

Uncle Ben was later killed when a burglar was robbing their house. Uncle Ben had accidentally surprised the burglar, causing the criminal to shoot Uncle Ben. Telling May that he loved her, Ben died in her arms. (His death was what sparked the transformation of Peter Parker into the criminal-fighting Spider-Man.)

Uncle Ben once returned for five minutes as part of a birthday present from Doctor Strange for Peter Parker. (To learn about Doctor Strange, click on his name above. This is shown in the fifth picture posted.)

To learn more about Uncle Ben, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Uncle_Ben.

Random Note: Uncle Ben is the only Marvel character that has stayed dead across all major continuities.

Battle Ultimate 2

We've had a Battle Royal 5...a Battle Royal 6...a Battle Royal 7...and a Battle Royal 8! There have been 50 more characters that have been involved in the last four Battle Royals so far! (A total of 100 have been involved in all of the Battle Royals.) We have had a 1st and 2nd place from each of the Battle Royals, which gives us the "People's Choice" of the 8 strongest Marvel characters! Now, Ladies and Gentlemen...it's time for the...BATTLE ULTIMATE 2!!!

Put the good and evil notion to the side. It's EVERYONE vs. EVERYONE. No alliances! Just pure power and abilities versus others' powers and abilities! Only ONE can be left standing! Please choose who you think would win among your chosen 8 strongest Marvel characters. Also, if you have time, please leave the reason why you think the character you chose would win in the "Comment" section below. This way, we can all see your reasoning in choosing your winner. Who will be the victor? Only you can decide!

The people's chosen 8 strongest characters are...Absorbing Man, Typhoid Mary, Psylocke, Man-Thing, War Machine, Mephisto, Emma Frost, and Galactus. (If you have forgotten some of these characters' powers/abilities, go ahead and check out their bios right here on the Marvel Madness blog.)

Russian

Real Name
Unrevealed

Occupation
Hitman, mercenary, one man death squad

Citizenship
Russia

Place of Birth
Smolensk, Russia

Known Relatives
Unrevealed

Group Affiliation
Gnucci Crime Syndicate, Grand Nixon Island Paramilitary Organization, founding member of Daredevil, Man Without Fear fan club of Smolensk.

Education
Unrevealed

Height
7’2’’

Weight
573 lbs

Eyes
Blue

Hair
Reddish-blond

Powers
Following his resurrection and subsequent reconstruction at the hands of General Kreigkopf’s paramilitary organization, The Russian possessed greatly enhanced strength and damage resistance. This is as a result of a large amount of Adamantium being surgically grafted to his bones, as well as various super-hard plastics being added to his physical structure, and the addition of a Titanium jaw. He has since been proven able to withstand knife and gunshot wounds, as well as emerging largely unscathed from a full-blown plane crash.

Abilities
Despite having no formal training in the art of combat, The Russian is a world class brawler and street fighter. Implanted lungs from a gorilla as well as a combination of three hearts mean The Russian is capable of greatly enhanced feats of endurance and is extremely slow to tire in combat. He also possesses boosted olfactory senses as a result of the procedures carried out on him.

Other Info
Little is known of the origins of the man known as the "Russian," except for the fact that he has a history of violence. A long-time associate of Ma Gnucci and her mafia cartel, the Russian has angered many powerful individuals. In fact, on one occasion, a government agency sent a special forces team to hunt him down; however, the Russian defeated them and released the sole survivor of the team as a warning for the repeated attempts on his life to stop, or else he would come for those that organized the attacks.

Following these events, the Russian received a call from Ma Gnucci requesting his assistance in dealing with the Punisher. Accepting this offer, the Russian attacked the Punisher in his apartment, overpowering him and beating him senseless. However, due to a hot slice of pizza in the Russian's eyes, the Punisher was able to trip him. Then the Punisher used his morbidly obese neighbor, Mr. Bumpo, to smother the Russian to death. Afterward, the Punisher cut off the Russian’s head and used it to taunt Ma Gnucci. (To learn about the Punisher, click on the highlighted name above.)

A little later, a paramilitary organization under the command of former US General Kriegkopf took the Russian’s remains to their base on Grand Nixon Island. It was here that he was reconstructed using Adamantium, super hard plastics, and a variety of organs obtained from animals such as gorillas. The Russian was turned into a killing machine that the organization planned to hire out to the highest bidder. One downside of the Russian's reconstruction was the need to inject a series of untested chemicals and hormones to help his body accept its new parts. However, due to a side effect of these hormones, the Russian had grown breasts. In this new form, the Russian would often wear a dress. (This newly created version of the Russian is shown in the fifth picture posted.)

Before heading off on his first assignment, the Russian requested one more chance at defeating the Punisher. Again the Russian severely beat Frank Castle, before tying him up and throwing him from the top floor of the Empire State Building. Fortunately, for the Punisher, Spider-Man saved the Punisher and joined the fight himself. But, Spider-Man was eventually knocked unconscious by the Russian. However, the Punisher began to use Spider-Man as a human shield against the Russian. Eventually, the Punisher was able to use Spider-Man’s web shooters to stun the Russian enough to open up an opportunity to knocking him off the roof. The Russian fell through the pavement and down into the path of an oncoming subway train. However, the Russian was able to walk away from it all and return back to Grand Nixon Island and be reconstructed once more. (To learn about Spider-Man, click on his highlighted name above.)

After being reconstructed again, the Russian was placed on a 747 plane to begin his first mission for his new bosses. However, immediately upon take-off, the Punisher (who had come to Grand Nixon Island in pursuit of General Kreigkopf) shot down the jet. The Russian survived this crash with only superficial injuries, and then chased the Punisher onto a plane loaded with a forcefully obtained French nuke (destined to be dropped onto a meeting of European leaders taking place in Brussels, Belgium). Following yet another brutal fight, the Punisher managed to hook the Russian to the nuke, which he then dropped from the plane onto Grand Nixon Island, annihilating all life on the base, including the Russian.

The Russian was a huge superhero fan. He was the president of The Daredevil, Man Without Fear, Fan Club of Smolensk. He also wanted to get autographs from the X-Men and the Fantastic Four before he was killed.

To learn a tiny bit more about the Russian, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Russian.

Nova

Real Name
Frankie Raye

Occupation
Former herald of Galactus, adventurer, translator

Citizenship
United States of America

Place of Birth
New York, New York

Known Relatives
Phineas T. Horton (stepfather)

Group Affiliation
Unofficial member of the Fantastic Four; formerly Heralds of Galactus

Education
College graduate

Height
5'6"

Weight
140 lbs

Eyes
White, no visible pupils

Hair
None

Powers
Nova could manipulate cosmic energy in the form of stellar fire, surrounding herself in a flaming aura. Her portion of the power cosmic allowed her to manipulate all forms of energy, fly at warp speed, and survive in outer space.

Abilities
Frankie Raye was fluent in more than one language besides English.

Other Info
Frankie Raye's biological father deserted his family when she was young. Her mother married a man she knew as Thomas Raye. Later, Frankie's mother passed away, leaving her in her stepfather's care. Without any other family activities, she helped her step-father in his lab that he worked in as a hobby.

When Thomas Raye learned about the Human Torch (Johnny Storm) of the Fantastic Four, he became very angry. Frankie had no idea that her step-father was actually a man named Phineas T. Horton (he had created the first android Human Torch; however, the government shut down his research and put the deactivated Human Torch and his old equipment in a warehouse). Horton left to go to his warehouse and Frankie came with him. While carrying some bottles of chemicals, Frankie fell through some weak planks and the bottles she was carrying broke. The chemicals doused her and she burst into flames; but, instead of being harmed, she gained powers similar to the Human Torch's. However, Horton hypnotized her to be afraid of fire, so she wouldn't use her powers. (To learn about either Human Torch and/or the Fantastic Four, click on their highlighted names above.)

For the next few years, Frankie lived a relatively normal life. She finished high school and college and got a job as an interpreter for the United Nations.

Later, Frankie met Johnny Storm and began a romantic relationship with him and soon discovered that he was the Human Torch. Soon after, Mister Fantastic was able to break Frankie's hypnosis, and she regained her memories. Under Johnny's guidance, Frankie learned how to control her powers and became an unofficial member of the Fantastic Four. (Click on the highlighted name above to learn about Mister Fantastic.)

When Galactus returned to Earth, Frankie Raye offered herself to him as a herald in order to save Earth. Galactus granted her a portion of the Power Cosmic and she departed Earth leaving everything behind. She was now known as "Nova." (To learn about Galactus and/or the Power Cosmic, click on their highlighted names above.)

Nova took delight in finding new worlds for Galactus to feed on, caring little for the lives of aliens. That was, until she met the Silver Surfer. The Silver Surfer saw Nova falling into the same apathy he himself had experienced when he was a herald of Galactus. Therefore, the Silver Surfer did his best to teach her to value all life. During this time, Nova and the Silver Surfer even had a short-lived romance. In the end, the Silver Surfer finally brought Frankie to a primitive world and asked her if she would feed it to Galactus. She said she would; but, then she learned that the Silver Surfer had actually brought her back in time to a young Earth. (To learn about the Silver Surfer, click on his highlighted name above.)

After this, Nova grew reluctant to serve Galactus. Finally, Galactus cast her out, taking the vicious executioner Morg as his new herald. Nova then joined with her fellow heralds (Silver Surfer, Terrax, Firelord and Air-Walker) in opposing Morg. However, during the battle, Morg slew Nova with a blast of energy through her chest. Afterward, the Silver Surfer laid her body to its final rest within a sun. (To learn about some of the heralds of Galactus, just click on their highlighted names above.)

Recently, Frankie showed up being alive after all, working at a diner in Nevada. However, when a psychic shockwave from space struck Las Vegas, Frankie flipped out and hopped in her car and went speeding down the road. She eventually stopped her car and was seen exploding in a flash of light. Later on, it was shown that Frankie had become a new Nova.

To learn a little more about Nova, click on the following link, http://marvel.com/universe/Nova_%28Frankie_Raye%29 (Note: Beware of the form-fitting outfit on Nova's bio page).

Frankie Raye appears in the Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer movie. However, she appears as a US Army Captain and does not have any of her powers.